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Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Lake Stevens, Washington
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
73F / 23C
Precipitation
Total Time = 6h 46m 59s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Up, eat, drive to Lake Stevens
Swim
  • 42m 56s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 02s / 100 yards
Comments:

Purposely wanted to go slow as I had big goals on the bike and run and have been known to go too hard on the swim. Mistake #1 today. Thinking too much. Went too slow and wound up 2 minutes slower than last years time. I had way more time in the pool this year, and way better technique, no reason to be slower other than I didn't go after it like I should have.
What would you do differently?:

Stop thinking and just execute as your training said you could.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Bike
  • 3h 47m 53s
  • 56 miles
  • 14.74 mile/hr
Comments:

Power for the first 10 miles or so were lower than I wanted, but rain and cold were a factor here. Was still picking my way through the field (I was the last wave to start, so it felt good to pass lots of people).

Unfortunately at about mile 25 my rear derailleur shifter broke. I was sort of able to fix it, but it left me forced to select one gear in back. I started on the 11T, but soon realized that if I wanted to save my run I needed to move it to an easier gear. In an effort to make the fix quick and easy I just selected the 28T and set my derailleur to hold on that cog. Well that worked great for the hills, but on flats and down hills that means I would spin out immediately. I think the average power I could generate before spinning out on the flats was somewhere around 40% of CP. On down hills it was closer to 28%. Spent nearly 4hrs on the bike course, screwing up my nutrition plan, and as it turned out still impacting my run but for reasons not related to pacing.
What would you do differently?:

Not buy the Vision Tech Metron after market shifters for my bike. Seriously, 3 failures in a year?!
Transition 2
  • 00m
Run
  • 2h 08m
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 46s  min/mile
Comments:

I was on target with my planned pace for the first 5 miles. Unfortunately after the bike segment I had my nutrition plan all screwed up and wasn't feeling particularly good on the run so I skipped the first few aid stations expecting that would make my stomach feel better. In hindsight it seems obvious that going way longer on the bike that I had planned nutrition for (I brought 3hrs of Infinit in my bottle, and wound up on the course for nearly 4) and then skipping the first 5 miles of aid stations except for water was the opposite of what I needed to do, but that never seems to hit your brain during a race. At mile 5 starts a reasonably steep, 0.25 mile hill. I hit the bottom of the hill feeling just fine, by the top though I was zapped of energy. Unfortunately it took me another few aid stations to realize my lack of eating was the reason I had no energy. By the time I got to an aid station, ate, and then felt the effects of having food again, my run goal was out of the realm of possibilities. With no chance of making my goal time, the heat and humidity as a result of the earlier rain and late day run, and a completely screwed up bike time, my desire to push the run faded quickly and decided to walk through some of the aid stations. Ironically, walking the aid stations and eating something made me feel better, so the last 2-3 miles of the race I was nearly at my goal pace again. I finished the run about 10-12 minutes off the time I thought I could achieve (and still think I can).
What would you do differently?:

So many things. First, pay closer attention to what my body is saying, vs. my brain. Looking back it was clear that I was running low on energy even at the first mile aid station. I should have started eating something semi solid there rather than just keep going.

Second, don't let myself give up so quickly. After losing my chance to hit my goal pace it became much to easy to slow down and not push as hard as I know I could have, even with the diminished energy, heat etc.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

I'd like to officially blame the overall race results on Vision Tech for making crappy equipment, but in reality much of the overall race that I could control still comes down to poor execution. I over thought this race based on some specific goals for the bike and run, and when I missed one, I let that get into my head and made it all too easy to miss the other, and in the process even impacted my swim. Lesson learned.




Last updated: 2012-02-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:42:56 | 2112 yards | 02m 02s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:47:53 | 56 miles | 14.74 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
Wind:
Course:
Road: Rough Wet Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills: Good
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:08:00 | 13.1 miles | 09m 46s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Bad
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? No
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2012-07-16 4:58 PM

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Issaquah
Subject: Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens


2012-07-16 11:39 PM
in reply to: #4314624

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Spokane, WA
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens
Bummer you had the bike issues, but sounds like you overcame quite a bit of adversity and still came very close to your overall goal time. Without the issues you would have definitely met your goals! Nice work!
2012-07-17 7:34 AM
in reply to: #4314624

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Extreme Veteran
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Issaquah
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens
Thanks! I was an hour and change slower than I expected but my run was still reasonably close (10-12 minutes). In any case I'm hoping to get another shot at my goal time at Black Diamond in Sept.
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